Skip to main content
Take back the land for the common good
PAUL DONOVAN applauds a highly important book that appears at a crucial time in the present biodiversity and climate crisis
DESPICABLE PASTIMES: John Ferneley, Edward Horner Reynard and his Brother George Grouse-Shooting At Middlesmoor, Yorkshire, with Their Gamekeeper Tully Lamb, 1836

The Lie of the Land
Guy Shrubsole, William Collins, £22

THIS book provides vital reading for government ministers, activists and anyone who cares about the future of the planet.

Guy Shrubsole reveals how the limited number of people who own land in Britain have overseen the trashing of this asset under the guise of being good stewards.

There are telling statistics, such as that just 5 per cent of the land is taken for private homes and gardens. This figure rises to 8.8 per cent if the definition is extended to all land built on. A further 73 per cent is farmland and 10 per cent forestry.

Donate to the Fighting Fund
Support the Morning Star
You have reached the free limit.
Subscribe to continue reading.
More from this author
CONFRONTING HOMOPHOBIA: (L) FCB Cadell, The Boxer, c.1924; (
Exhibition review / 21 March 2025
21 March 2025
While the group known as the Colourists certainly reinvigorated Scottish painting, a new show is a welcome chance to reassess them, writes ANGUS REID
BLOOD ON THE TRACKS: Xilun Sun as the mysterious interloper
Film of the Week: / 20 March 2025
20 March 2025
ANGUS REID recommends an exquisite drama about the disturbing impact of the one child policy in contemporary China
Short Story / 7 February 2025
7 February 2025
The phrase “cruel to be kind” comes from Hamlet, but Shakespeare’s Prince didn’t go in for kidnap, explosive punches, and cigarette deprivation. Tam is different.
Frantz Fanon at a press conference during a writers' confere
BenchMarx / 28 January 2025
28 January 2025
ANGUS REID deconstructs a popular contemporary novel aimed at a ‘queer’ young adult readership
Similar stories
he famous trek up the Kinder Scout in Derbyshire in 1932
Features / 26 April 2025
26 April 2025

This year’s march and swim in a reservoir in the Peak District will continue the fight for 'access for all' in a nation where 92 per cent of land remains inaccessible to the public, writes SHAILA SHOBNAM

The grouse shooting season, in Eddleston, Scotland
Features / 15 December 2024
15 December 2024
A green campaigner’s new book argues that large landowners have used their self-proclaimed role as ‘stewards of the countryside’ to deflect attention from the environmental damage that their activities cause. Professor CHRISTOPHER RODGERS reports
Farmers protest in central London over the changes to inheri
Features / 21 November 2024
21 November 2024
NICK WRIGHT sets the record straight on the controversy that has been whipped up by wealthy right-wing windbags like Clarkson and Farage, which will only really affect a tiny minority of super-rich land hoarders
Farmers protest in central London over the changes to inheri
Editorial: / 20 November 2024
20 November 2024